Polishing apparatus



Jan, 5 1932. J.-c. RICHARDSON. 1,840,254

POLISHING APPARATUS Filed June 27, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 MI 1. g. .1

INVENTOR. James E. Richer clam-L ATTORNEYS.

Jan. 5, 1932. J c, RlcHARDSON 1,840,254

POLISHING APPARATUS Filed June 27. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Jame s Rid-1a? 155 GT1 Patented Jan. 5, 1932 UNETEDSTATES PATENTOFFICE 1JAMES C. RICHARDSON, F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO I.

FISCHMAN & SONS, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION POLISHINGarrnnnrns This invention relates to improvements in polishing apparatusadaptable for the polishing of marble, lenses, and the like. I v Theprimary object of this invention is the provision of an? improvedpolishing head adapted to be used for high speed rotary polishing, andincluding improved means to resiliently support the polishing stoneorele ment'in a resilient and aligned relation with the.drivingeleinent, against liability of eccentric or gyratory action, andso that the polishing element will adjust itself to the general plane orcontour to which itis intended to polish off the article being workedupon. 15

' vent-ionwill be apparent dur ng the course of Other objects andadvantages of this inthe following detailed description.

. In the accompanying drawings, wherei for the purpose of illustrationis shown only a preferred embodiment of the invention,

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view taken through the'improvedpolishing head, showing itconnected to a power or drive shaft.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, showing the lower endof the drive shaft where the sameis to be connected to the improvedpolishing head.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the polishing head with the polishingelement disconnected therefrom.

Figure 4' is a bottom plan View, partly in section, of the elementsshown in Figure 3.

Figure -5 is a side elevation, partly in section, of details of thepolishing head disconnected from the polishing element. I In thedrawings, whereinsimilar reference characters designate correspondingparts throughout the severalviews, the letter A may generally designatethe improved polishing head, adaptable for attachment to a driven orpower shaft B. The polishing head A preferably comprises a polishingstone or element C connected to supporting means I). A body portion E isconnected with the driveshaftB and resiliently connected as by means Fto the meansll' Means G cooperating with the means D is associated withthe body E for holding the polishing stone C in a concentric rotaryrelation to the drive shaft B, in aflexible and resilient relation.

1929. Serial No 374,205. u

. The body E preferably comprises a cylindrical shaped socket portion10, provided with the relatively coarse internal screw threads 11. Thecylindrical socket portion 10 is open at the top thereof, and connectedby-a reduced shank 13 with a relatively fiat circular plate 14 atthelower end thereof, which, in the assemblage of the polishing head, maybe appropriately referred to as the top plate. A cylindrical passageway16 is provided axially through the body E, extending from the socketopening in the portion 10 thereof through to the bottom of the platel4.It is adapted to slidably receive the hollow cylindrical shank portion17 of the aligning member G. The inclined lubricating duct 20 may extendthrough the body E from exteriorly thereof to the passageway 16, forlubricating the relatively sliding surfaces of the aligning member orjoint member Grand the passageway 16. I j

The power or drive shaft B is slightly enlarged' near its lower end, at22, and is of cylindrical formation. It is providedwith a reduced shank24 at the lower end thereof, externally screw threaded with coarsethreads 25, shown best in Figure 2 of the drawings. These screw threadsare adapted to detachably connect'in the screw threaded socket 11 of thebody 10 of the polishing head, and they thread onto the threads 11opposite to the normal direction .of rotation of the polish head; itbeing intended that the drive shaft B shall always rotate in onedirection, since there is no need for reversing, and by 0ppositelythreading the connection of the shaft to the head there will be noliability of detaching of the parts during operation.

Due vto the above screw threaded connection, to prevent a binding ofparts, and permit of easy detachment of the head from the power shaft,it is preferred to provide an anti-friction thrust bearing generally designated at K in Figure 1 of the drawings, which is disposed beneath theshoulder 31 formed at the juncture of the reduced shank 24 with theportion 22 of the drive shaft, and adapted tobe abutted by the upperedge of the body lOwhen the latter is assembled to the drive shank24.The said anti-friction ing.

bearing is at all times held on the lower end of the-drive shaft,although the body of the polishing head may be disconnected from theshank 24. It is of course understood that the connecting'piece has alower annular flange which holds the races in, position, but does notinterfere with the engagement of the body 10 with the lower race of saidbear- Thelower construction preferably includes a member or so-calledbottom plate 40,

which is connected in spaced yieldable relation to the plate 14 byresilient substantially U shaped springs 41; The said springs arearranged in diametrically opposed relation, two sets of the same beingprovided, with the V springs spaced 90 apart about the axis of rotation;The said'springs 41 have the convex sides of their concavo-convexportions fac ing outwardly, and the legs 46 and 47 of said springs aresubstantially in flat abutment with the facing surfaces of the plates'14 and respectively, and'riveted thereto as at 48, as well shown inFigure 1 of the drawings.

Thus the arcuated bight portions of the.

sp ingsal are disposed close to the outer margins of the plates '14 and40, and connect the plates together so as to permit the l relativetipping'of the same. These springs are relatively strong, and yet theyyield 1111- der operating influence toperform the objects of theinvention. Theplate 40 is fur- V V G, from .endto end, axially thereof,and

thermore provided with a central thickened portion" having adependingannular flange 50, defining a downwardly facing socket whereina plurality of shims 51 may be provided in any approved number, for apurpose to be subsequently described. The said plate 40 axially thereofis provided with a concave socket 52 facing downwardly, which opens atthe lower face of the plate and arcuates upwardly in a convergentrelation to the top surface, of the plate 40. It is adapted to swivellyreceive the ball-shaped head 53 of the aligning member'G. The aligningmember G, as above mentioned, includes the shank 17, which is of hollowcylindrical formation, and at the lower end thereof it is provided withthe ball 53, which'swivelly fits into the socket 52. The said shankhas asnug sliding reciprocatory seating'in the passageway16 of the body E,and it extends downwardly below the bottomyof the plate 14:-A-passageway 54 is provided throughthe aligning member which aligns'withthe axial passageway55 through the shaft B, so 'thatfiushing and]lubricating fluids may pass downwardly the shank 63, as

through the shaft B and onto the surface being polished, for-a purposewell understood in this art. v

The construction D furthermore includes a complementary socket providingmember 60, which as is shown in Figures 1 and 5 of the drawings,includes the upper circular body portion 61, of a size to fit in thesocket provided by the flange 50, and rest against 'the shims 51 in saidsocket. The shims are for the purpose of takin up wear. The member 60furthermore includes the reduced lower shank 63, preferably circular,and of a nature to t in the top opening of the polishing stonesupporting base 66. The portion 61' of the nected with the plate 40 bymeans of countersunk head machine screws -71, shown in Figure 5 of thedrawings,which have screw threaded connection in screw threaded openings7'? provided in the plate O,1as shown in Figure 5; these screws "71'being'projvided in the arrangement shown in Figure 4. of the They arecountersunk at their lower-head ends in the member 60. The member 60 isprovided with a concave socket 76 complementary mentioned, and"converging downwardly from the top surface thereof-to the restrictedoutlet opening at the lower end through shownin Figure l of the isadapted, together with receive the ball" 53 of the in a universaljointed drawings, which the socket--52, to aligning member relation v V.The polishing stone@ is preferably of cylindrical formation although itmay be otherwise shaped if desired. It is provided with the relativelylarge passageway "80 'therethrough, and at its upper portion in themetal base 66,'which in turn above the opening 80 of the stone C,iseonnected by cap screws 82 with the lower construction D of thepolishing head the member 60 being provided with openings 84therethrough to permit thecap screws ,to freely extend there through,and the plate 10 has screw threaded openings 85 therein for receivingthe screw threaded portions of the shanksof the screws 82.. The heads ofthe cap screv s lie bene th the base 66 where the same overhangs meopening through the polishing stone, as shown in Figure 1. r

With the parts in the arrangement so far described, the polishing stoneis yieldably connected for high speed rotary drive by the power shaft B,thru the springs 41 connected between the plates 14: and 40. "in addit'there is preferablyprovided a pair of resilient-dish-shapedplatesinterposed inthe s ace between the ball 53 of the aligning member sandthe top plate 1 1. Theseplatesshown in Figure l'comprise upperend lowerspring disc plates 90 and 91, the former of which is inverted and at itslcentral portion bulged member 60 is detachably conwith the socket 512above upwardly to engage the top plate 14, and the lower of which isbulged downwardly to engage the'top portion of the ball 53 where it-is'connected with the shank 17 of the aligning member G. The marginalflanges of the plates 90 and 91 are in abutment annularly 1 about theshank 17 and between the plates 14 and 40' and within the outer confinesof the bight portions of the springs 41. Due to the central relativelyopposite bowed or dished portions of the springs 90 and 91, the samewill resiliently urge the polish head away from theplate 14.

y In operation, it can be seen from the above that thepolishing stone Cwill. relatively adapt itself to the plane of the surface being polishedindependent of the angularity of the drive shaft B. The stone will becon centrically disposed at all times with respect to the rotary axis ofthe drive shaft, prevent- 'ing gyratory or eccentric movements, and

this is mainly due to the novel interposition of the member G which isuniversally connected with the portion D of the head, and slidablyconnected axially to the body of the head which is rigidly connectedwith the .drive shaft B. Of course, it is intended that the device shalluse a plurality of stones during some polishing actions, since undersome circumstances it is intended that the polishingshall first proceedwith a rough cutter, and then with a succession of medium cutters, andfinally with a fine polishing stone. Due to the interposition of theyielding parts between the plates 14 and 40. there will, be ahigh factorof safety, preventing injury to operators. The device is intended tooperate at high speed and will'level polish with great accuracy. Theflushing liquid will of course pass through the passageways 55 and 54and through the large passageway in the polishing stone to reach thesurface being polished for cleansing and lubricating the The parts aremainly of'brass and bronze, to prevent rust and corrosion. Due to theself aligning head feature and the yieldability of the stone withrespect to the drive shaft, a smooth, flat, and true surface will beinsured upon the article being polished.-

In lieu of the plate-like dish springs 90 and 91 there may besubstituted a block of rubber or coil springs, to perform the func tionof transmitting the pressure or weight required to give the properpolishing results. It is readily understandable that the reciprocatoryaction of the shank of the aligning member G enables a variable pressureto be exerted upon the polishing stone, to increase or decrease thefrictional engagement with the surface being polished, and yet admit ofno eccentric action of the polishing head on the surface being polished.This is mainly due to the reciprocatory action of the shank in the bodyportion E of the head,

ing independent of the pressure springs transmit the driving force ortorque, and also erform the additional function of rubbin 0 down thehigh spots on the marble or other article which is being polished. It isunderstandable that when a high spot is encountered. upon the articlebeing polished, the driving springs directly thereabove will be slightlycompressed, causing an increased pressure on the high spot, with theresult that the high spot is ground down until the surface is flush withother surfaces adjacent thereto. This must automatically result wherevera high spot is encountered, and ultimately the surface will be groundtrue, that is, until the pressure exertedby the con necting springs 41is equal. All the time that the leveling isbeing done the polishingstone is truly concentric. It is important that the shank of thealigning member is relatively short, so that the distance between thepolishing stone and the lower connecting end of the drive shaft isrelatively small.

Various changes in the shape, size. and arrangement of parts may be madeto the form of invention herein shown and dc scribed, without departingfrom the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a polishing arrangement a drive construction, a polisher, bowedsprings of the leaf type'connecting the polisher with the driveconstruction so that the polisher is resiliently connected with thedrive construction for rotation therewith and to permit angular tippingwith respect to the axis of rotation of the drive construction, otherspring means acting axially of the drive construction and polisher toforce the latter away from the drive construction along the axisthereof, and other means universally connected with the polisher andhaving an iaXlal'SlldlIlg connection with the drive conwin-F.-

nesting member, a polisher, a member connected to the polisher, meansresiliently connecting the last mentioned member to the drive shaftconnectable member with a driving connection, and an aligning memberhaving axial slidable connection with'the first mentioned member and auniversal jointed connection with the second mentioned 1Q1QI1- ber. 7

necting member, a polisher connecting mem-' her, a resilient meansestablishing a rotary associated with the member and the body holdingthem concentric rotary operating relation, said last mentioned meansincluding a imiversa-l joint connection with the said member and-anaxial slidable connection in said body. V a

6, In polishing device the combination of a drive shaft havinganattaching end ith an aiiial passageway therein, lead including portionhaving a cen 'ral socket thereiman aligning member including a ballportion and a shank rigid rewith, the shank slidably fitt'ng forrectilinear relative motion in the passageway of said drive shaft, andthe ball portion thereof bein received in universal jointed relation inthe central socket of the polisher ead, and means yieldably establishinga ve connection betwe n the said end of the rive-shaft andthe facingportion of the polisher head so-that the latter may tip universally npcnthe ball portion of said aligning 'member.

7. In polishing device the combination of a drive shaft having anattaching end provider with an axial. passageway therein, a po l i headincluding a. portion having a central sockettherein, an aligning memberincluding a ball portion. and a shank rigid therewith, the shankslidably fitting for rectilinear relative motion in the passageway ofsaid drive shaft, the ball portion thereof being received in" universaljointed relation in the centralasocket of the polish-er head,

' means yieldably establishing a drive connection between the said endof the drive shaft and the facing portion of the polisher head so thatthe latter may tip universally upon the ball portion of said aligningmember,

4. In a polishing head a drive shaft con- .said drive shaft having awater conveying passageway axially therethrough and the aligning memberhaving a Water conveying iassageway axially therethrough for receivingwater from the passageway ofthe drive shaft for discharge into thepolisher head.

8. In a polishing device the combination of a drive shaft having anattaching end provided with an axial passageway therein, a polishinghead including a portion having a central socket therein, an aligningmember including a ball portion and a shank rigid therewith, the shankslidably fitting for rec tilinear relative motion in the passageway ofsaid drive shaft, the-ball portion thereof being receivedin universaljointed relation in the central, socket of the polisher head, meansyieldably establishinga drive connection between the said end of thedrive shaft and the facing portion of the polisher head so that thelatter may tip universally upon the ball portion of said'aligningmember, and resilient diaphragm plates peripherally connected togetherhaving central'passageways therethrough for receiving the shank of thealigning member there'through, said diaphragm plates being disposedbetween the said end of the .drive'shaft and the polisher headfornormally urging the latter away from the said end portion of the driveshaft. 9. in a polishing device the combination of a'drive shaft, ashort attaching body detachably connected tothe end. of the drive shaftand having an'aXial passageway therein aligning with the drive shaft, apolisher having a central socket therein, an aligning member providedwithv a shank slidably m unted for rectilinear movement in thepassageway of said attaching body and having a ball head universallyjointed in the socket of said polisher member, andm'eans establishing ayieldable driving connection between the said attaching body and thepolisher member whereby the latter may tip for universal movement uponthe ball head of said aligning member.

JAMES C. RICHARDSON.

